Interconnected paper clips

ABSTRACT

A system for organizing groups or sets of related papers in which a plurality of substantially identical, interconnectable paper clips are provided. Each clip is capable of receiving and retaining a single set or group of papers, and is provided with lateral or vertical interconnecting elements for connection to a like paper clip with the connecting elements being positioned so as to dispose the various interconnected clips and their associated retained sets of papers in segregated but connected, spaced-apart parallel planes forming a terrace-like or vertical stack array. The individual paper clips may be indexed, such as by labeling, color coding or other indexing devices to facilitate the indentification of the individual groups of papers in the interconnected array.

United States Patent [191 Purdy INTERCONNECTED PAPER CLIPS [76]Inventor: Donald D. Purdy, PO. Box 137,

Langley, Wash. 98260 [22] Filed: Nov. 11, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 522,780

[52] US. Cl. 24/67.9 [51] Int. Cl. B42F 1/02 [58] Field of Search206/459, 499, 501; 24/208 A, 11 CT, 67 R, 67.9, 81 PC, 84 B, 84 H, 10 R[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 774,036 11/1904 Burgess24/81 PC 1,414,926 5/1922 Arolan 24/84 B 2,478,376 8/1949 De Swart24/67.9

2,566,837 9/1951 l-luelsmeyer 24/67 R X 2,613,413 10/1952 Budny 24/10 R2,933,790 4/1960 Hudson 24/84 H X 3,112,966 12/1963 Reid 206/501 X3,168,954 2/1965 Von Herrmann 24/67 R X 3,225,469 12/1965 Chase 24/67.9X 3396,4316 8/1968 Daddona.... 24/208 A 3,751,327 8/1973 Hausler 24/208A UX [451 Oct. 28, 1975 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 282,478 8/1952Switzerland 24/84 H Primary Examiner-Donald A. Griffin Attorney, Agent,or Firm-Christensen, OConnor, Garrison & Havelka 57 ABSTRACT A systemfor organizing groups or sets of related papers in which a plurality ofsubstantially identical, interconnectable paper clips are provided. Eachclip is capable of receiving and retaining a single set or group ofpapers, and is provided with lateral or vertical interconnectingelements for connection to a like paper clip with the connectingelements being positioned so as to dispose the various interconnectedclips and their associated retained sets of papers in segregated butconnected, spaced-apart parallel planes forming a terrace-like orvertical stack array. The individual paper clips may be indexed, such asby labeling, color coding or other indexing devices to facilitate theindentification of the individual groups of papers in the interconnectedarray.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Oct. 28, 1975 3,914,824

INTERCONNECTED PAPER CLIPS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In general thepresent invention relates to a system for retaining and organizingpapers or documents.

Although there are all shapes, forms and sizes of paper clips, for themost part, paper clips are designed and intended for individualfastening of a single group or set of papers or for fastening multiplegroups of papers in an inseparable collection. For example, with aconventional paper clip, two related sets of papers may be eachindividually joined by a single paper clip. However to join the papersets it is necessary to either unclip one set of papers and rejoin theconsolidated set with a single clip, in which case the sets of paperslose their separate identity entirely, or clip the two individual setsof papers together with a single, larger clip. In either case, the useof such prior clips is limited, because the separate paper sets cannotbe easily removed or detached from the consolidated sets withoutunclipping the individual papers of at least one set.

In many cases, it is desirable to relate these separate sets of papers,each consisting of two or more leaves, in an organized andinterconnected, but detachable fashion, without comingling or mixing allor some of .the pages of the various sets together and withoutunclipping one or more of the separately bound sets.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide animproved paper clip which overcomes the foregoing disadvantages notedwith respect to conventional paper clips and provides an improved paperclipping systerri for organizing papers.

These and other objects will be more particularly brought out uponreference to the accompanying drawings and detailed description ofparticular preferred embodiments of the present invention. r-

IN THE DRAWINGS:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the interconnectable paper clip of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of two like paper clips of the type shown inFIG. 1 illustrating the manner in which DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERREDEMBODIMENT The present invention relates to a paper clipping andorganizing system for holding together a number of pieces of paper ordocument pages, and more particularly to a plurality of paper clips eachbeing configured so as to be interconnectable with other like clips ofthe system. It is the intent of the interconnectable feature of theseclips to permit related groups of papers, each held together by anindividual clip, to be attached to one another to form a singleconvenient terraced or stacked paper display which can be broken apartor added to as desired.

The use of such a clip device is best illustrated by a practical exampleof its application. An accountant or bookkeeper may use the clips toorganize receipts, billings, receivables, etc. during preparation offinancial statements. The various materials are efficiently,categorically subdivided with the individual clips, and

thereafter consolidated by interconnecting the clips in an appropriateorder. Use of the paper clip system of the present invention permitseach category or group of papers, e.g. receipts, billings, etc., toretain its individual identity while participating as a portion of anoverall display of material related to the particular account.

Color coding or other indexing of the clips may be employed to make themadditionally valuable by providing instantaneous identification of eachinformation data group in an interconnected display of papers. Obviouslythe foregoing example of the system is only one of numerous applicationsof this invention, and it may be used generally in business, industry,education, medicine, etc. wherever a need to efficiently organizedocumentary material exists.

FIG. 1 illustrates the interconnectable paper clip of 10 constructed inaccordance with one preferred embodiment of the present invention. Inthis embodiment, clip 10 is injection molded of a resilient plastic.This material imparts spring qualities to the clip necessary forreleasable retention of the individual groups or sets of papers as morefully discussed herein.

A plurality of substantially identical paper clips 10 are used, each ofwhich is comprised of a pair of substantially planar jaws l2 and 14joined in a base portion 16 with an opening or slot 18 between the jawsproviding means for accommodating plural sheets of paper 21 or the like.The lower jaw 12 may be stiff or rigid as in this embodiment andprovided with a jaw face 20 which guides the paper edges 19 beneath theupper jaw 14.

Upper jaw 14 is resiliently flexible for retaining the papers by aclamping force. An interior face 22 on base portion 16 to the rear ofthe jaws abuts, limits, and aligns the paper edges. The upper jaw 14 ismolded to confom1 to a contour which permits it to reside in a generallyparallel relationship to the lower jaw 12 providing a clamping line 24in a paper receiving plane generally defined by a slot 18 betweenconfronting jaw faces 20 and 21. An upturned forward lip 26 of upper jaw14 permits the edges 19 of the sheets of paper 21 to be easilypositioned and inserted into and between the jaws 12 and 14. Roughenedor textured surfaces may be molded into the jaw faces 20 and 21 toenhance the gripping power of the jaws. The forward corners of both jawsmay be rounded to prevent damage to clipped papers during bending andhandling.

Each paper clip 10 has integrally molded into it complementary male andfemale interconnecting elements 28 and 30 respectively disposed onopposite lateral sides of the jaws 12 and 14. In this embodiment maleelement 28 is comprised of a projection 32 of rectangular cross sectionwhich extends laterally outwardly from the base portion 16 adjacent jaw14 and is terminated on its outer end in a knob-like protuberance 34.Female element 30 consists of a recessed molded socket 36 and entryopening 38 extending laterally inwardly of the base portion 16 adjacentjaw 12. Socket 36 and opening 38 are so dimensioned in depth to matchthe overall length of projection 32 and protuberance 34 of element 28 ofan adjoining clip such that portions of the sides of the interconnectingclips abut one another. Entry opening 38 for socket 36 is very slightlysmaller in cross section than the protuberance 34 on the male element 28to insure a press-fit. Additionally the socket 36 is enlarged indimension at its maximum depth so as to accommodate the protuberance 34in a snap fashion after it has been pressed through the entry opening38. Female element 30 is disposed in this case in base portion 16 at itsjunction with lower jaw 12. To accommodate this placement lower jaw 12is wedge shaped with the larger section adjoining base portion 16 toprovide a relatively large cross section of material for molding socket36 and opening 38. The essentially rectangular cross section of theprojection 32 of the male element 28, as it resides in and bears on thelikewise rectangular cross section of opening 38 of the female element30, tends to resist twisting between the clips thereby maintaining anessentially parallel relationship between the respective groups ofpapers held therein.

Male and female elements 28 and 30 are positioned on clip 10 in therespective planes generally defined by jaws 12 and 14 and on opposedsides of the plane defined by slot 18 between the jaws l2 and 14. Thislocation of the interconnecting elements serves in this embodiment as ameans for spacing the plurality of interconnected clips in elevationwith the slots 18 disposed in uniformly spaced apart parallel planeswith each clip being at a slightly different elevation than the adjacentclips as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. The connected clips are thuslaterally adjacent one another and offset in elevation so as to presentthe groups of individually clipped papers in a terraced presentation asshown in FIG. 3.

Paper clips of the type described by this invention of a size andcapacity comparable to that of common wire clips may be used singly orjoined in groups of from two to perhaps a dozen when grouping andretaining standard eight and one-half by eleven sheets. Note in FIG. 2that the interconnected clips provide a relationship such that the jawsof the successive clips present slots 18 for sheaves of papers 17 and 23each one at a different elevation such that when laid upon one anotherthe successive groups of papers maintain a separate physical identityand may be separated at any interface between clips for access at anytime. Also it is noted in FIG. 3 that the base portions 16 of thelaterally interconnected clips 46, 48 and 50 are visible beyond theupper marginal edges 52, 54 and 56 of the successive groups of paper 58,60 and 62. Because of this color coding of the clips, such as by moldingthe clips in different colors, provides a valuable index means orreferencing system for locating a specific group of papers in theinterconnected array. A further embodiment of the index means may beprovided by a roughened upper margin surface 63 on the base portion 16of each clip upon which an alphabetical or numeric index reference maybe written with pencil or ball point pen to supplement or provide analternative to the color coding reference. Still another embodiment ofsaid index means is to provide label receiving means such as stick-onlabels or molded label receptacles on the upper surface 63 of baseportion 16.

FIG. 4 4 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the interconnectablepaper clip of the present invention. This embodiment illustrates a clip64 stamped from a sheet of metal or plastic or a type which provides thespring qualities necessary for clip operation. The

stamping is formed into the general shape described by the preferredembodiment previously described and functions in a similar manner. Inthis embodiment, however, the male interconnecting element 66 iscomprised of a hook-like lateral extension 68 on the one side of a flatplate-like upper jaw 70. The female element 72 on the other hand is acontoured flange which depends first downwardly and then laterallyoutwardly from a side of a flat plate-like lower jaw 74. The male andfemale elements in this case are disposed on the respective jawsadjacent a base portion 73 joining jaws 70 and 74. A tip 76 of the maleelement 66 is inserted through a slotted opening 78 in the femaleelement 72 and is rotated to position the clips in juxtaposition so thatthe hook 68 completely engages the female element 72. An upper surface80 of the outwardly extending portion 81 of female 72 functions tosupport the lower surface 83 of the hook 68 and to maintain the spacedapart parallelism of the clip jaw planes.

FIG. 5 shows a still further alternative embodiment of theinterconnectable paper clip system. Here, the complementary male andfemale interconnecting elements 91 and 92 of clips 90 are disposed toextend substantially normal or perpendicular to the planes of the clipjaws and again on opposite sides of the plane defined by slot 93.Elements 91 and 92 can be either vertically aligned on each clip 90 toform a straight vertical stack of interconnected papers, or laterallyoffset such that progressively higher clips are laterally shifted to oneside of the underlying clips to create a terraced effect similar to theembodiment of FIG. 3. As in the case of clip described above, clip 90may be molded of resilient plastic, with elements 91 and 92 beingintegral therewith and shaped similarly to the male and female elementsof clip 10 to provide the same press or snap fit.

I claim:

1. An interconnectable paper clip for use in a system of likeinterconnectable paper clips, comprising:

a base portion;

a pair of jaw portions joined at the rear thereof by said base portionand forming a paper receiving and retaining slot opening at the frontthereof;

a male interconnecting element disposed on said base portion andextending laterally outwardly therefrom adjacent one side of said jawportions and a complementary female interconnecting element disposed onsaid base portion and extending laterally inwardly thereof adjacent anopposite side of said jaw portions for detachable interconnection with acomplementary male element of another substantially identicalinterconnectable paper clip; and

said male and female elements being positioned on said base portion onopposed sides of a paper receiving plane defined by said jaw portionsslot, whereby said interconnectable paper clip is interconnectable witha plurality of like clips in a sideby-side array with said paperreceiving and retaining slots positioned in uniformly spaced apartplanes for organizing groups of individually clipped papers in aterraced presentation. 4

2. The interconnectable paper clip as defined i claim 1, wherein saidbase portion and said jaw portions and said male and femaleinterconnecting elements are integrally formed.

3. The interconnectable paper clip as defined in claim 2, saidintegrally formed base portion, jaw portions and male and femaleinterconnecting elements being formed from a molded resilient plastic soas to impart a spring-like quality to said jaw means for resilientlyretaining said group of papers.

4. The interconnectable paper clip of claim 1 further defined by saidjaw portions including a lower rigid jaw and an upper resilient jawbiased toward said lower rigid jaw for clamping said groups of papertherebetween, one of said interconnecting elements being positioned in aplane generally defined by said lower rigid jaw and the other of saidinterconnecting elements being positioned in a plane generally definedby said upper jaw such that the interconnection of said paper clip withlike paper clips positions the paper receiving and retaining slots insaid uniformly spaced apart planes.

5. The paper clip as defined in claim 4 wherein said lower jaw is wedgeshaped defining a relatively large body section joining said baseportion and tapering therefrom to a relatively smaller section adjacentthe opening of said jaws, said female interconnecting element beingpositioned within said relatively large section of said lower jaw at itsjunction with said base portion and said male interconnecting elementextending from a junction of said upper jaw with said base portionwhereby said elements are positioned for interconnecting said paperclips with said slots positioned in successively increasing ordecreasing uniformly spaced apart planes.

6. The interconnectable paper clip as defined in claim 1, said male andfemale interconnecting elements being further defined by said maleelement comprising a hook-like lateral projection extending from oneside of said jaw portions adjacent said base portion and said femaleelement comprising a mating contoured flange having a slotted openingfor detachably receiving said hook-like extension of another like paperclip, said contoured flange extending generally downwardly and outwardlyfrom the opposite side of said jaw portions adjacent said base portion.

7. An interconnectable paper clip system for organizing paperscomprising:

a plurality of substantially like paper clips for individually receivingand retaining a separate group of papers, each said paper clip having abase portion and a pair of jaw portions joined at the rear thereof tosaid base portion and defining therebetween a paper receiving andretaining slot of generally planar configuration and opening at thefront and sides of said jaw portions, each said clip having a rearabutment face for engaging and aligning edges of clipped papers, andeach said clip further having complementary male and femaleinterconnectable elements for detachable interconnection withcomplementary elements of another said clip, said male and femaleelements of each said clip disposed on said base portion on oppositesides of the plane defined by said slot and aligned with each other sothat the interconnection of said clips disposes the planes of said slotsin spaced apart parallelism and aligns said rear abutment faces for likealignment of the clipped edges of the groups of papers.

8. The interconnectable paper clip system of claim 7, wherein said maleand female elements of each said clip are disposed in lateral alignmenton opposite sides of said jaw portions, whereby the interconnection ofsaid elements disposes said clips in a laterally aligned array.

9. The interconnectable paper clip system of claim 7, wherein said maleand female elements of each said clip are positioned in verticalalignment, substantially perpendicular to the plane defined by saidslot, whereby the interconnection of said elements disposes said clipsand papers retained thereby in a vertically aligned stack.

10. The interconnectable paper clip system of claim 7, wherein said maleand female elements of each said clip are formed with press fitrectangular cross sections resisting twisting between any pair ofinterconnected said clips and thereby structurally retaining said spacedapart parallelism between slots and said alignment of said rear abutmentfaces.

1. An interconnectable paper clip for use in a system of likeinterconnectable paper clips, comprising: a base portion; a pair of jawportions joined at the rear thereof by said base portion and forming apaper receiving and retaining slot opening at the front thereof; a maleinterconnecting element disposed on said base portion and extendinglaterally outwardly therefrom adjacent one side of said jaw portions anda complementary female interconnecting element disposed on said baseportion and extending laterally inwardly thereof adjacent an oppositeside of said jaw portions for detachable interconnection with acomplementary male element of another substantially identicalinterconnectable paper clip; and said male and female elements beingpositioned on said base portion on opposed sides of a paper receivingplane defined by said jaw portions slot, whereby said interconnectablepaper clip is interconnectable with a plurality of like clips in aside-by-side array with said paper receiving and retaining slotspositioned in uniformly spaced apart planes for organizing groups ofindividually clipped papers in a terraced presentation.
 2. Theinterconnectable paper clip as defined in claim 1, wherein said baseportion and said jaw portions and said male and female interconnectingelements are integrally formed.
 3. The interconnectable paper clip asdefined in claim 2, said integrally formed base portion, jaw portionsand male and female interconnecting elements being formed from a moldedresilient plastic so as to impart a spring-like quality to said jawmeans for resiliently retaining said group of papers.
 4. Theinterconnectable paper clip of claim 1 further defined by said jawportions including a lower rigid jaw and an upper resilient jaw biasedtoward said lower rigid jaw for clamping said groups of papertherebetween, one of said interconnecting elements being positioned in aplane generally defined by said lower rigid jaw and the other of saidinterconnecting elements being positioned in a plane generally definedby said upper jaw such that the interconnection of said paper clip withlike paper clips positions the paper receiving and retaining slots insaid uniformly spaced apart planes.
 5. The paper clip as defined iNclaim 4 wherein said lower jaw is wedge shaped defining a relativelylarge body section joining said base portion and tapering therefrom to arelatively smaller section adjacent the opening of said jaws, saidfemale interconnecting element being positioned within said relativelylarge section of said lower jaw at its junction with said base portionand said male interconnecting element extending from a junction of saidupper jaw with said base portion whereby said elements are positionedfor interconnecting said paper clips with said slots positioned insuccessively increasing or decreasing uniformly spaced apart planes. 6.The interconnectable paper clip as defined in claim 1, said male andfemale interconnecting elements being further defined by said maleelement comprising a hook-like lateral projection extending from oneside of said jaw portions adjacent said base portion and said femaleelement comprising a mating contoured flange having a slotted openingfor detachably receiving said hook-like extension of another like paperclip, said contoured flange extending generally downwardly and outwardlyfrom the opposite side of said jaw portions adjacent said base portion.7. An interconnectable paper clip system for organizing paperscomprising: a plurality of substantially like paper clips forindividually receiving and retaining a separate group of papers, eachsaid paper clip having a base portion and a pair of jaw portions joinedat the rear thereof to said base portion and defining therebetween apaper receiving and retaining slot of generally planar configuration andopening at the front and sides of said jaw portions, each said cliphaving a rear abutment face for engaging and aligning edges of clippedpapers, and each said clip further having complementary male and femaleinterconnectable elements for detachable interconnection withcomplementary elements of another said clip, said male and femaleelements of each said clip disposed on said base portion on oppositesides of the plane defined by said slot and aligned with each other sothat the interconnection of said clips disposes the planes of said slotsin spaced apart parallelism and aligns said rear abutment faces for likealignment of the clipped edges of the groups of papers.
 8. Theinterconnectable paper clip system of claim 7, wherein said male andfemale elements of each said clip are disposed in lateral alignment onopposite sides of said jaw portions, whereby the interconnection of saidelements disposes said clips in a laterally aligned array.
 9. Theinterconnectable paper clip system of claim 7, wherein said male andfemale elements of each said clip are positioned in vertical alignment,substantially perpendicular to the plane defined by said slot, wherebythe interconnection of said elements disposes said clips and papersretained thereby in a vertically aligned stack.
 10. The interconnectablepaper clip system of claim 7, wherein said male and female elements ofeach said clip are formed with press fit rectangular cross sectionsresisting twisting between any pair of interconnected said clips andthereby structurally retaining said spaced apart parallelism betweenslots and said alignment of said rear abutment faces.